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Human Rights & Democracy
The European Union views all human rights as universal, indivisible and interdependent. It actively promotes and defends them both within its borders and when engaging in relations with non-EU countries.
The value and virtue of democracy is being challenged more than ever around the world. Even though global levels of democracy remain high, there is growing trend towards authoritarianism.
Each year 12 million girls under 18 are married; 130 million girls worldwide are still out of school; and approximately 15 million adolescent girls aged 15-19 have experienced forced sexual activity. The EU is committed to continue its full support to see progress and not regress, for girls and women to achieve gender equality.
This year´s campaign focuses on raising awareness on the rights of children whose parents have been sentenced to death or executed
Violence against women and girls is a real scourge affecting the latter all across the world every day. As many as 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. To contribute in addressing this global challenge, the EU and UN have launched the Spotlight initiative in September 2017 which is a global initiative at the forefront of the fight to end violence against women and girls.
